The present invention relates to an adhesive composition for wood, and more specifically to an improvement of a phenol resin adhesive, particularly an alkali phenol resin adhesive.
As one measure to enlarge the use of soft woods, the production of bonded products such as structural veneer laminated lumber(LVL), structural plywood and particle boards have been considered. However, when amino resin adhesives represented by melamine-formaldehyde resins and urea-formaldehyde resins are used as adhesives for these bonded products, the products are insufficient in bonding property and in durability. To increase the reliability to the products, and to enlarge and ensure the use thereof in the long term, it is said that phenol resin adhesives represented by phenol-formaldehyde resins and phenolmelamine-formaldehyde resins excellent in bonding property and durability are preferably used. Of these phenol resin adhesives, water-soluble alkali phenol resin adhesives particularly have excellent durability. For this reason, bonded wood products such as plywood and LVL produced by using the water-soluble alkali phenol resin adhesives are also utilized as outdoor portions requiring durability. As a drawback, however, the above adhesives require a higher temperature and a longer time in hot pressing for the production of the products, compared with the amino resin adhesives. This causes low workability, a decrease in thickness of the product after pressing and deterioration of the surface thereof. In addition, the above adhesives are poor in thermosetting property in the presence of moisture. It is therefore indispensable to dry adherends, and they are used under absolutely dried conditions as a general rule.
For the purpose of improving the amino resin adhesives, particularly improving their water resistance and reducing their formalin odor, it is proposed to incorporate phenol resin powders in the amino resin adhesives (Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 58-84876/1983).
On the other hand, as a method for improving these drawbacks of the above phenol resin adhesives, the method of incorporating highly condensed phenol resin powders therein is proposed [Collected Summaries of Research Presentations at the 35th Meeting of the Japanese Wood Society, item 2C01, p. 188 (1985); and Collected Summaries of Research Presentations at the 37th Meeting of the Japanese Wood Society, item 7120, p. 290 (1987)].